Texas Tornados

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Texas Tornados was a Tejano band and its music was a fusion of rock, country and various Mexican styles, that is, Tex-Mex. The initial combination of this set of very talented musicians happened almost by chance at a concert performance of a mutual acquaintance. After Freddy Fender, Flaco Jimenez, Augie Meyers and Doug Sahm engaged in this musical extravaganza in front of a San Francisco audience, they all knew the genuine bond they felt in their music could probably be taken to another level. After they initially performed as the Tex-Mex Revue, they took the title Texas Tornados, after Sahm's song and album of that name.

Another account of the group's birth says they formed when record company executives looking to cash in on regional music sales approached Sahm and Meyers around 1990, and they brought in longtime friends and collaboraters Fender and Jimenez. Sahm had released albums under the name Texas Tornados as early as the 1970s, some featuring Fender or Meyers. Jimenez and Meyers played on Sahm's Atlantic Records debut in 1971.

Individually, this talented quartet has had major success. Corpus Christi-native Freddy Fender was a cross-over success story around the world with his music. With hits like "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" to his credit, Fender made his name known to everyone interested in hearing music straight from the heart.

Flaco Jimenez has played with acts ranging from the Rolling Stones to Dwight Yoakam. He also is known as the "Father of Conjunto Music" (Flaco plays the Conjunto accordion).

Augie Meyers has shared the stage with the likes of The Allman Brothers Band and Bob Dylan. He's also a member of the Texas Music Hall of Fame. Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers were both members of the 1960s pop-rock band the Sir Douglas Quintet, with hits such as "She's About a Mover" and "Mendocino" to their credit. Sahm, Meyers and Jimenez are from the San Antonio area.

The band's 1990 debut was recorded in both English and Spanish versions. The Texas Tornados were asked to perform all over the world at places like the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton, the Montreaux Jazz Festival, as well as regular appearances at Farm Aid and the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show.

Among their other albums is Live From The Limo, which gives Tejano music fans a taste of the stuff that makes this sound so unique. This was the last album to be recorded that featured the complete lineup, as Sahm died in 1999, the year of its release. Fender, who had health problems in later years, died in 2006. Their 2005 Live from Austin album was a recording of a 1990 performance on the TV series Austin City Limits.

People sometimes refer to their lyrics as Spanglish because of the mixture of English and Spanish in the same song, in addition to pronouncing the Spanish lyrics in an American accent, which is evident in their hit, (Hey Baby) Que Paso. An example is the lyric: "Don't you know I love you / and my corazón is real?", where the word corazón (Spanish for "heart") is improperly pronounced IPA: [koʊɹ.aː.ˈsoʊn] with an obvious American accent instead of IPA: [ko.ra.ˈzon̪], the proper Latin format. The band's self-titled debut album was offered in Spanish and English-language versions.